"I watched you from the shadows, afraid that if I stepped forward, you’d vanish like a dream."

The night was cold, the streets shrouded in a heavy fog that blurred the city’s edge. Y/n stood in the shadows, a few feet away from the entrance to Taehyung’s estate. She hadn’t come to kill him—not this time—but the pull to see him again was irresistible. Her heart raced as she lingered, watching the guarded gate where his security forces patrolled.

For weeks now, she had been shadowing him, making sure he was never out of her sight for long. Each time she saw him, her resolve wavered. The love she had buried so deep inside was starting to claw its way back to the surface.

Her breath fogged in the air as she pressed her back against the brick wall. The memories of their time together played in her mind like a broken record, each note of their laughter, every touch of his hand sending sharp pangs of longing through her chest.

She had to know what he was doing, why he kept moving through life as if she wasn’t even there. Did he still think of her? Or had the years of hatred, the betrayal, the bloodshed, erased all of it?

For the past few days, Y/n had been watching from afar, and she had seen the way Taehyung moved through his world with a calm confidence, as though he was untouchable. It made her ache to think of how much he had changed, and yet… there was still a flicker of the Taehyung she once knew. She could feel it at every glance, every decision he made.

She stepped out of the shadows as his black SUV pulled up to the gate. Her heart pounded as he got out, his figure illuminated in the glow of the estate’s lights. He was dressed in black, sharp and commanding, his eyes scanning the surroundings before locking onto her position.

For a moment, neither of them moved.

“Y/n,” Taehyung said softly, his voice carrying through the night air.

Y/n froze. Her breath caught in her throat, and she cursed herself for being so obvious.

“I should have known you’d be watching me,” he added, his lips curving into a faint, almost sad smile.

She wanted to speak, to explain why she couldn’t just walk away, but the words died in her throat. Instead, she simply stepped forward.

“I was trying to stay away,” she whispered, her voice shaking.

Taehyung raised an eyebrow, a hint of amusement in his eyes. “You always were a terrible liar.”

Y/n felt a flush of guilt rise in her cheeks. “I don’t know what you want me to say, Taehyung. I’ve been trying to make sense of everything—of this…” She gestured vaguely between them, the air thick with unsaid words.

He stepped closer, his expression softening. “You don’t have to explain anything to me. I get it. You’re in too deep now. You can’t escape.”

Y/n’s pulse quickened. “I’m trying.” Her voice was barely a whisper. “I’m trying so hard.”

He reached out, brushing a lock of hair from her face, his touch gentle, and for a brief moment, everything else in the world disappeared. It was just the two of them again, before the war, before the bloodshed.

But that wasn’t reality.

“Why haven’t you killed me, Y/n?” Taehyung asked quietly, his voice almost unreadable. “You’ve had every chance.”

She closed her eyes, the weight of his question sinking in. “I don’t know,” she admitted, her voice raw. “Maybe because deep down, I still care. Maybe because I can’t bring myself to destroy what we were.”

He stepped back slightly, a small laugh escaping him. “I always knew you were weak when it came to me.”

Y/n clenched her fists, frustration bubbling inside her. “I’m not weak, Taehyung. I’m just… conflicted. You’ve never had to live with the kind of choices I’ve had to make. You don’t understand the price of loyalty to family.”

“I don’t understand?” Taehyung’s voice hardened. “I think I understand more than anyone. I had to watch my father die because of family loyalty. I had to kill my own blood to keep my place. You’re not the only one with a heavy burden, Y/n.”

She flinched, the sharpness in his words hitting harder than she expected. But instead of retreating, she held her ground, staring at him.

“Then why aren’t you angry with me?” she asked, her voice steady despite the storm of emotions inside her.

Taehyung’s gaze softened once again. “Because I know you, Y/n. I know you’ve been forced into this. I know that what happened to us was never really your choice. And for that, I could never hate you.”

Her breath hitched, and she closed her eyes to blink back the tears threatening to spill. “I hate myself for it,” she whispered.

For a long moment, neither of them spoke. The tension between them was palpable, but it wasn’t the hatred they had once shared. It was something deeper, something they had both been running from.

When Y/n opened her eyes again, Taehyung was watching her with the same intensity he always had, as if he could see straight into her soul. “You still have a choice,” he said softly. “You don’t have to follow this path, Y/n. You don’t have to choose them over us.”

His words echoed in her mind, as haunting as they were hopeful. Could she truly turn her back on everything her family had built for her, for the love they once shared? The love she was so desperately trying to bury?

Taehyung stepped back, his voice low. “I’ll always be here, no matter what you decide.”

Y/n stood there, the cold wind sweeping through her hair, torn between the past she couldn’t let go of and the future she feared to embrace. As Taehyung walked away into the darkness, Y/n felt the walls around her heart begin to crack.

———

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Thanks for the cover thvfiqz